Hegel’s Philosophy of Right, with Marx’s Commentary: a Handbook for Students

92 Pages·1974·3.488 MB·English

by  Howard P. Kainz (auth.)

Hege1's Philosophy of Right,
with Marx's Commentary:
a Handbook for Students
Hegel's Philosophy of Right,
with Marx's Commentary:
a Handbook for Students
by
HOWARD P. KAINZ
•
MARTINUS NIJHOFF/THE HAGUE/I974
© 1974 by Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, Netherlands
Softcover reprint oft he hardcover 1st Edition 1974
All Rights reserved, including the rights to translate or to
reproduce this book or parts thereof in any form
ISBN-13: 978-90-247-1620-3 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-010-2054-1
001:10.1007/978-94-010-2054-1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
The Place of Hegel in the History of Philosophy
The Importance of Hegel's Philosophy 2
The Importance of Hegel's "Philosophy of Right" 4
Hegel's "System" 5
The Dialectic 6
Hegel's Terminology 9
Marx's Critique of the Philosophy of Right II
Sample Examination Questions & Term Paper Topics 12
ANALYSIS OF HEGEL'S "PHILOSOPHY OF RIGHT"
THE PREFACE TO THE 'PHILOSOPHY OF RIGHT' 13
THE INTRODUCTION TO THE P.R. (§§ 1-33) 14
Sample exam questions, sample essays 16
Diagram of the development of the Philosophy of Right 17
I. ABSTRACT RIGHT (§§ 4-104) 18
Sample exam questions, sample essay 21
II. MORALITY (§§ 105-141) 22
Sample exam questions, term paper topic 24
III. ETHICAL LIFE (§§ 142-360) 25
Term paper topic 26
I. The Family (§§ 158-181) 27
A. The stage of love and marriage 27
B. Family capital 29
C. Education of children and dissolution of the family 29
Sample exam questions, etc. 31
VI T ABLE OF CONTENTS
2. Civil Society (§§ 182-256) 32
A. The system of needs 33
r) The development of need and satisfaction into "genera" 33
2) The development of work into "genera" 34
3) Resources 34
a) The agricultural class 35
b) The business class 35
c) The bureaucracy 35
B. The administration of justice 36
r) The process by which right becomes law 36
2) The process by which law becomes existent 37
3) The process by which existent law vindicates itself through judge-
ments 38
a) The process of inquiry 38
b) The stages of legal action 39
c) The process of legal judgement 39
C. The police and the corporation 40
r) The police 40
2) The corporation 41
Sample exam questions, etc. 42
3. The State (§§ 257-360) 44
A. The constitution 44
Marx's commentary 47
r) The inner constitution of the state, in its existence-for-self 50
Marx's commentary 51
a) The crown 52
Marx's commentary 54
b) The executive 60
Marx's commentary 6r
c) The legislature 64
Marx's commentary 66
2) Sovereignty in relation to foreign states 76
B. International law 77
C. World history 78
Sample exam questions, etc. 79
Appendix, Marx's commentary 82
Selected bibliography 84
Index of Names 85
Subject Index 86
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
GEORG WILHELM FRIEDRICH HEGEL (1770-1831)
THE PLACE OF HEGEL IN THE HIS TOR Y OF PHILOSOPHY
In order to gain a proper perspective of Hegel's place in the history of philo
sophy, it might be useful to focus on one key concept which has evolved
significantly in meaning, from the time of Aristotle to Hegel. I am speaking
of the philosophical concept of the "category."
In Aristotle's system, there were ten categories (or "predicaments") of
reality or being. These included substantiality, time, place, quantity, quality,
and other aspects of knowable beings. The most notable thing about these
categories is that they all have to do with what we would call "objective"
realities. That is, none of them purport to describe subjective or mental
states or conditions.
In modern philosophy (i.e., philosophy since the time of Descartes), there
was a swing of the pendulum in the opposite direction, from objectivity to
subjectivity - culminating in the twelve new "categories" of Kant. All of
Kant's categories were subjective ways oflooking at reality: We can organize
objective phenomena into universal unities; therefore the first Kantian cate
gory is "unity." We can separate objective phenomena into particular divi
sions; therefore the second category is "plurality." And so forth.
With Hegel, the modern trend to subjectivism is arrested, and we have,
not surprisingly, a new type of "category" - the category of the unity of
thought and being, of self and other, of subject and object. Hegel reacted to
what he called the extreme "subjectivism" of Kant. And it was his intention
to restore objectivity to its proper place in philosophy; without, however,
regressing to the objectivism of Aristotle. Therefore the vantage point which
he chooses is an attempted compromise between empiricism (emphasis on
objective facts and events) and idealism (emphasis on subjective categories
and ideas). And his primary concern, in most of his writings, is to capture the
"movement," or oscillation, that takes place between the two poles of ob
jectivity and subjectivity. For example, in his Philosophy of Right, he is
2 GENERAL INTRODUCTION
primarily interested in showing the relationship between the subjective free
dom of the individual and the objective political, legal and social structures
to be found in society.
It is sometimes suggested that Hegel initiated a complete breakthrough in
philosophy, coming up with a completely new "system." However, the ori
ginality of Hegel is easily exaggerated. His method of "triplicity" (the dia
lectical "movement" from existence-in-self to existence-for-self to existence
in-and-for-self) was inspired by Kant (as Hegel himself avers in his History
of Philosophy and other places). "Phenomenology," in Hegel's estimation,
also began with Kant, and not with Hegel's Phenomenology of Mind. The
"Absolute Self-Consciousness" which Hegel refers to in various writings is
simply a further extension of Kant's "transcendental unity of apperception."
The Hegelian "category" of thought/being was inspired by the ego/non-ego
of Fichte and the subject-object of Schelling. Fichte and Schelling, contem
poraries of Hegel, were likewise responsible for early attempts at writing a
phenomenological history of the development of human consciousness -
attempts that Hegel brings to a final conclusion with his famous Phenomenol
ogy.
Finally, we might note that Hegel's attempt to synthesize all of reality
into a complete system of knowledge was perhaps the least original idea of
all. Aristotle and Spinoza had both attempted to do this. Fichte, also engaged
in system-building - although his efforts were less persevering and complete
than Hegel's.
This is not to say that Hegel was not original, but only to reiterate one of
Hegel's own observations: that every man is the product of his age. What we
refer to as "originality" very often consists in simply giving a new direction
to currents that have already been set in motion.
THE IMPORTANCE OF HEGEL'S PHILOSOPHY
Even if the philosophy of Hegel were of no particular importance in itself, it
would still have an historical importance in view of philosophical movements
that it has given rise to. There are three philosophical movements that are
closely related to Hegelianism: existentialism, phenomenology, and Marxism.
Existentialism: Kierkegaard, sometimes called the "father" of existential
ism, hardly ever refers to Hegel except to criticize him. However, many of the
prime "existenti.al" concepts expounded by Kierkegaard bear unmistakable
traces of Hegelian influence. For example, Kierkegaard's thesis that quanti
tative progressions can lead eventually to a qualitative "leap" is found in a
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 3
different context in the Preface to Hegel's Phenomenology; his contention that
historical "proofs" for Christianity are invalid was first expounded by Hegel;
his exposition of the "task" bears strong resemblances to Hegel's exposition
of "work" in the Phenomenology; and his "Knight of Faith" is apparently a
reformulation of Hegel's "Knight of Virtue." Many other instances could be
cited to show that Hegel supplied the main impetus or springboard for some
of the key concepts of Kierkegaard's existentialism.
Phenomenology: It is very hard to find any hard and fast definition of
"phenomenology" from contemporary phenomenologists. Hegel seems to be
one of the first persons to use this term to describe a particular approach in
philosophy. He defines "phenomenology" as a philosophical position which
concentrates on the distinction between subject and object, and tries to dis
cover which aspects of reality are derived from the subject (or ego), and which
aspects are primarily attributable to the object (or thing-in-itself). He states
that Kant, who was primarily concerned with showing how many supposed
ly "objective" realities are caused by subjective presuppositions, was a
"phenomenologist. "
Contemporary phenomenology stems from Husserl who, like Kant, was
concerned with isolating the "a priori" subjective constructs which enter in
to our "objective" knowledge. For this reason, Husserl would also seem to be
a "phenomenologist" in the original Hegelian sense of that word.
Marxism: Marx in his early years was a member ofthe "Young Hegelian"
movement, and retained a respect and admiration for Hegel throughout his
career. In fact, as an old man he confided to a friend that he had always
wanted to write a book explaining the philosophy of Hegel to the common
man in simple language.
Marx, however, like Kierkegaard, presents Hegel in a very much altered
form. According to Marx, a distinction has to be made between the Hegelian
system and Hegel's dialectical method. The system is introverted and ration
alistic, putting imaginary "spiritual" values before practical and material
values. The system has to be "overturned," so that reality (material and prac
tical values) will once again take precedence over "fantasy." The Hegelian
method, however, should be retained. By utilizing Hegel's dialectical method
in scientific fashion we can reliably predict and control changes which take
place in the socio-economic sphere (the sphere of primary interest to Marx).
We shall examine Hegel's dialectic method in more detail in a section
which follows, entitled "Dialectic."
4 GENERAL INTRODUCTION
THE IMPORTANCE OF HEGEL'S "PHILOSOPHY OF RIGHT"
First of all, it should be mentioned that the title of this book The Philosophy
of Right, can be somewhat misleading. From the title, we might surmise that
the book has to do with various human rights, such as the right to life and
property, and perhaps also with law, insofar as law is oriented to defining and
protecting the rights of individuals. Our suspicion would be correct to a cer
tain extent. Hegel's Philosophy of Right does have to do with such things. But
it is also a treatise on political philosophy and a textbook on moral philo
sophy. In Hegel's estimation, "right" and "law" (although differing from
morality) are inseparably connected with morality; and morality is inseparab
ly connected with social and political structures. And the Philosophy of
Right attempts to show these interconnections in a systematic fashion, pro
ceeding a) from right and law, to b) morality, to c) political philosophy.
The third and final section, on political philosophy, seems to have been the
most influential, giving impetus to such diverse movements as communism
and national socialism (Naziism), and even (according to Bosanquet) sup
plying new theoretical bases for democracy:
Communism: During the 1840'S, when Marx made the transition from "Left
ist" Hegelianism to communism, he wrote a treatise entitled A Critique of
Hegel's" Philosophy of Right," which has only recently been subjected to close
study by scholars. In this Critique, we find that Marx, by applying a "trans
formative criticism" to Hegel, has already formulated some of the pivotal
concepts that will receive expression later on (in the Communist Manifesto,
Capital, and other more mature works) - such as the concept of a "prole
tariat," and the necessity for abolition of private property and the State.
An analysis ofthis Critique is given in this handbook at the end of the var
ious sections on which Marx commented.
National Socialism: As Peter Viereck points out in his book on the de
velopment of Naziism (Metap olitics; Capricorn, 1965), Hegel supplied
some of the pivotal concepts which gave rise to the National Socialist move
ment in Hitler's Germany. For example, Hegel stressed the "organic"
nature of the State, and the Nazis extrapolated this idea to preach that the
German nation was an organism which had to follow its own laws of growth,
without being hindered by conventional moral standards. Likewise, the Na
zis misinterpreted Hegel's famous statement, "The Rational is the Real,"
as meaning that a nation's policies are correct ("rational") when they are
successful (realistic, or "real").
Democracy: According to Bosanquet, Hegel's Philosophy of Right is
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 5
very important insofar as it brings out in the open one of the "paradoxes"
of democracy - the fact that maximum individual freedom can only be found
in a complex and highly organized political structure. In Hegel's political
philosophy we get beyond the "myth" of democracy - the illusion that the
state is just a superstructure created by millions of individuals who choose,
through a "social contract," to sacrifice part of their individual freedom to
achieve common objectives. According to Hegel's analysis, both individuali
ty and freedom are to a great extent results of a complex cultural milieu, in
cluding the modern "State." A person who is brought up in a primitive so
ciety, or without the benefit of multiple social interactions, will encounter
almost insuperable obstacles in becoming an individual, or in achieving the
sense of right and responsibility that goes hand in hand with "freedom."
HEGEL'S "SYSTEM"
In the prime of his life, Hegel wrote his famous "system" of philosophy,
which was entitled The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. This Encyclopedia con
sisted of 3 major sections, I) the Logic, 2) the Philosophy of Nature, and 3)
the Philosophy of Spirit. The Philosophy of Right fits into the third section, as
may be seen from the following brief summary of the Encyclopedia:
The Encyclopedia of Philosophy
I. Logic
There is a gradual transition from simple ideas of quantity, quality, etc.,
to ideas of scientific laws (cause and effect, action and reaction, substance
and accident), to the laws governing ideas (i. e., logic in the usual sense
the study of judgments, syllogisms). Finally, we advance from the con
sideration of the laws of ideas to a consideration of the varieties of being
(which correspond to our ideas). And this brings us to ...
II. The Philosophy of Nature
We begin with "mere" being - matter, motion, space and time - and
make a gradual transition to those types of being which are closest to
consciousness - plants and animals. This final contact with conscious
ness then leads us on to the next major stage, which is ....